The Body Shop was founded in February of 1934 by William Penn Eklund along with his uncle, Alfred Israelson. They operated their automobile repair shop and garage in the Richards Building at 801 Atlantic Avenue in Morris.  Prior to this, Eklund was engaged in the automobile repair business for many years in the Morris community, and he served in WWI as a mechanic in the Motor Transport Corps.  

In November of 1936 Eklund moved his shop to the Dickey Building located on the corner of West 6th Street and Pacific Avenue.  Cecil G. Dickey was a car dealer here in Morris. As Eklund’s business continued to grow, he decided he needed more space. In August of 1938 he purchased and remodeled “Tewksbury Building” which was just across the street. The Eklund Body Shop was then relocated to 107 West 6th Street in Morris, which is still it’s present location.

In March of 1940, W. P. Eklund, proprietor of the Eklund Body Shop ventured into the new automobile sales by securing a Packard dealership.  He handled sales & service of Packards in the area.  This was his first venture into new automobile sales, and he still continued his garage repair and body shop service.  

By the 1950’s, James Eklund, William’s son had taken over the business. In the early 1980’s Bruce Riedner purchased the Eklund Body Shop and shortened the name to “The Body Shop”. In 2024, Jason Manska purchased the The Body Shop, changing the name to The Body Shop of Morris.